Johnny on the spot? No problem as Manziel wows on pro day

1of3Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel attracted a crowd before, during and after his pro day Thursday in College Station.Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

2of3Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel attracted a crowd before, during and after his pro day Thursday in College Station.Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

3of3ESPN had one of its college football crews on hand to break down Johnny Manziel's pro day with the former Texas A&M quarterback, at far left, after he finished wowing a crowd of some 500 on Thursday.Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

COLLEGE STATION - It was a stunning showcase and a choreographed circus. It was NFL power and celebrity culture. It was Johnny Manziel.

The former Texas A&M star quarterback - and the Texans' potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft - ran through a pro day just like Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles and Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater recently did. Except Manziel's workout was on a completely different level and on an entirely different stage.

With everyone from Texans general manager Rick Smith and coach Bill O'Brien to former President George H.W. Bush eyeing him up close, Manziel expertly delivered 61 of 64 passes Thursday, adding another round of intrigue to an already murky 2014 draft board while possibly silencing critics who believe the undersized 5-11¾, 207-pound quarterback won't survive as a pro.

An estimated 500 people, including coaches, scouts, A&M-related family members and media, viewed Manziel, who wore a dark-black No. 2 jersey and helmet and camouflage shorts while zipping short- and long-range passes as rap music bounced through McFerrin Athletic Center.

The curiosity peaked Wednesday, when it was reported that Bush and Gov. Rick Perry would attend the session, which was closed to the public.

By 9 a.m. Thursday, about two hours before the workout's start, national sports television networks were live, while local reporters began filling up a bubble-type practice venue that was sectioned into three viewing areas.

Perry wasn't visible. But Bush and his wife, Barbara, were escorted down the left sideline in golf carts about 15 minutes into Manziel's workout, creating a surreal scene that was much more Hollywood than Agricultural and Mechanical.

"Boy, that was a lot. I've never seen that before," said George Whitfield, Manziel's quarterback coach, who guided the on-field action. "If an elephant came trotting across the end zone, it'd feel like it'd be the same thing. When the president sits right up on your flank here, you're like, 'Oh, OK. It's cool.' But I'm sure he felt it."

'Well-prepared' for it

Manziel, 21, insisted he didn't. But the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner acknowledged everything he went through as an Aggie - controversy, criticism, an autograph scandal; 7,820 yards, 63 touchdowns and the biggest name in college sports - prepared him for the unflinching eyes of the NFL and an even more critical road that will follow.

"I don't think you can name another person who has gone through college and been through the things I have, and I am well-prepared for that," said Manziel, who spent 2012-13 as Texas A&M's starter. "I have had to do things a lot of people in my position wouldn't have had to do."

The football rebel - part Joe Namath, part LeBron James, without even playing a pro game - kept his own beat going Thursday. On the biggest day of Manziel's athletic life, he altered the standard pro-day look, opting for shoulder pads and a helmet. After deciding against pumped-in music, he asked Whitfield to hit the "play" button following his third series of passes.

"I don't want people to dance (but) …" Manziel told Whitfield.

When Manziel threw an early long pass to wide receiver Mike Evans along the right sideline, the cocky quarterback snapped his right fingers downward, capturing his confidence, adrenalin and emotion. When pass No. 64 ended as a deep touchdown to Evans down the left hash mark, Manziel yelled out, "Boom!"

New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick, once one of the biggest names in the NFL, saw the same flash.

"Johnny Manziel will be a star in the NFL," Vick tweeted. "I can't wait to watch him play!!!!"

Naysayers still out there

Reality soon returned. Bortles currently is seen as the Texans' most likely pick if Smith and O'Brien opt for a quarterback at No. 1. Meanwhile, Manziel faced detractors for two highly scrutinized years at Texas A&M, and some NFL analysts believe any team that drafts him before the second round will be throwing away a valuable pick.

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wanted more substance and less style at College Station.

"The huddles and the different things and the music. … It was a sideshow," Zimmer said.

After Manziel made his rounds on live national TV and spent five minutes speaking with assorted media, he exited the field and moved on to extended meetings with waiting NFL teams.

Manziel's father, Paul, stood holding a broom that Whitfield waved to simulate a pass rush, while guarding a box containing his son's helmet and pads.

"We've seen it our whole lives. Since he was playing pee-wee baseball: 'He won't be able to knock it over the fence when he gets up to that fence.' And then he knocks it over there," Paul said. "There's always those doubters, and I don't know why. I don't know why people can't see the good in people and want the best. A lot of people just focus on the negative, and he keeps proving them wrong.

Brian T. Smith is a sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle. He has won multiple Associated Press Sports Editors awards and been honored by numerous journalism organizations. Smith was a Houston Texans beat writer for the Chronicle from 2013-15 and an Astros beat writer from 2012-13. The New Orleans-area native previously covered the NBA's Utah Jazz (The Salt Lake Tribune) and Portland Trail Blazers (The Columbian), among other beats. He is the author of the book Liftoff, which documented the Astros' rebuild and 2017 World Series championship.

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